April 10
Events * 879 - Louis III becomes King of the Western Franks. *1500 - Ludovico Sforza is captured by the Swiss troops at Novara and handed over to the French. *1606 - The Charter of the Virginia Company of London was established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America. *1710 - The first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain. *1741 - War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz. *1790 - United States Patent system established *1815 - Mount Tambora eruption covers several islands with ash in Indonesia. *1816 - The U.S. government approved the creation of a Second Bank of the United States. *1821 - Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Turks from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus. *1826 - The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive. *1856 - Theta Chi Fraternity Founded at Norwich University *1857 - The Sepoy Mutiny popularly known as the "Revolt of 1857" broke out in Meerut, India as part of the Indian independence movement. *1864 - Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is elected emperor of Mexico. *1865 - American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time. * 1865 - The last photograph of Abraham Lincoln alive was taken. *1866 - The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh. *1868 - At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Theodore. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two die from the British/ Indian troops. *1869 - José Martí founds the Cuban Revolutionary Party. *1896 - Spiridon Louis wins the marathon of the first Olympic Games. *1906 - The Four Million, O. Henry's second short story collection, is published. *1912 - The [[Wikipedia:RMS Titanic|RMS Titanic]] leaves port in Southampton, England for her first and only voyage. *1916 - The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City. *1919 - Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos. *1924 - The first train robbery is reported in Greece outside the city of Larissa. *1925 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York by Charles Scribner's Sons. *1933 - New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps is created. *1938 - Édouard Daladier becomes Prime Minister of France. *1941 - World War II: The Axis Powers in Europe establish the Independent State of Croatia from occupied Yugoslavia with Ante Pavelić's Ustase fascist insurgents in power. *1944 - Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp. * 1944 - Henry Ford II is named executive vice president of Ford Motor Company. *1953 - The first 3D film is released in New York. *1957 - The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months. *1959 - Akihito, future Emperor of Japan, weds Michiko. *1963 - The submarine [[Wikipedia:USS Thresher (SSN-593)|USS Thresher]] is lost at sea, with all hands (129 officers, crewmen and civilian technicians). *1964 - The Polo Grounds are demolished. *1968 - Shipwreck of the Wahine outside Wellington harbour. *1970 - Paul McCartney announces that he's leaving The Beatles. *1971 - Ping Pong Diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People's Republic of China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a weeklong visit. *1972 - 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is executed by communist guerrillas. * 1972 - Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967 American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam. *1973 - A British Vanguard turboprop crashes during a snowstorm at Basel, Switzerland killing 104. *1978 - Volkswagen becomes only the second non-American automobile manufacturer to build cars in the United States (after Rolls-Royce), opening a plant in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. *1979 - On "Terrible Tuesday", a tornado lands in Wichita Falls killing 42 people. (see Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak). *1991 - Italian ferry Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy killing 140. * 1991 - A rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites. *1998 - The Belfast Agreement is signed. *2006 - Hundreds of thousands protest H.R. 4437 (aka the "Sensenbrenner Bill") in cities across the United States. Births *1389 - Cosimo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1464) *1583 - Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and writer (d. 1645) *1651 - Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician (d. 1708) *1656 - René Lepage de Ste-Claire, lord-founder of the town of Rimouski, in New France (d. 1718) *1704 - Benjamin Heath, English classical scholar (d. 1766) *1713 - John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist (d. 1788) *1755 - Samuel Hahnemann, German physician (d. 1843) *1762 - Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist (d. 1834) *1778 - William Hazlitt, English writer (d. 1830) *1783 - Hortense de Beauharnais, French-born queen of Holland and wife of Louis Bonaparte (d. 1837) *1794 - Matthew Perry, American commodore (d. 1858) *1829 - William Booth, English founder of the Salvation Army (d. 1912) *1837 - Forceythe Willson, American poet (d. 1867) *1847 - Joseph Pulitzer, American journalist and publisher (d. 1911) *1864 - Eugen d'Albert, German composer (d. 1932) *1867 - George William Russell, Irish nationalist (d. 1935) *1868 - George Arliss, English actor (d. 1946) *1880 - Montague Summers, English writer (d. 1948) * 1880 - Mohammed Nadir Shah, Afghan king (d. 1933) *1882 - Frances Perkins, American politician (d. 1965) *1887 - Bernardo Houssay, Argentine physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971) *1894 - Shri Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian industrialist (d. 1983) *1910 - Paul Sweezy, American economist and editor (d. 2004) *1911 - Martin Denny, American musician (d. 2005) *1913 - Stefan Heym, German author (d. 2001) *1915 - Harry Morgan, American actor *1917 - Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979) *1921 - Chuck Connors, American actor (d. 1992) * 1921 - Sheb Wooley, American actor and singer (d. 2003) *1923 - Roger Gaillard, Haitian historian and novelist (d. 2000) *1924 - Kenneth Noland, American painter *1926 - Junior Samples, American musician (d. 1983) *1927 - Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American scientist, Nobel laureate *1929 - Max von Sydow, Swedish actor *1930 - Claude Bolling, French jazz composer/pianist * 1930 - Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress/comedian (d. 2006) * 1930 - Spede Pasanen, Finnish comedian (d. 2001) *1932 - Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor *1934 - David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (d. 2007) * 1934 - Vladimir Posner, Russian journalist *1936 - John Madden, American football coach and broadcaster *1937 - Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet *1938 - Don Meredith, American football player and broadcaster *1941 - Paul Theroux, American author *1942 - Ian Callaghan, English footballer *1943 - Andrzej Badeński, Polish athlete *1946 - David Angell, American television producer (d. 2001) *1947 - Bunny Wailer, Jamaican musician *1950 - Ken Griffey, American baseball player * 1950 - Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (P-Funk and The Temptations) (d. 1992) *1951 - David Helvarg, American journalist and environmental activist * 1951 - Steven Seagal, American actor *1954 - Peter MacNicol, American actor *1955 - Lesley Garrett, British soprano *1957 - John M. Ford, American science fiction author and poet (d. 2006) * 1957 - Steve Gustafson, American rock bassist (10,000 Maniacs) *1958 - Bob Bell, British engineer * 1958 - Yefim Bronfman, Russian-born pianist * 1958 - Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, American music producer, musician, and film producer *1959 - Yvan Loubier, Quebec politician * 1959 - Brian Setzer, American musician (Stray Cats) *1960 - Steve Bisciotti, American owner of the Baltimore Ravens * 1960 - Katrina Leskanich, American singer (Katrina and the Waves) *1961 - Joe Cole, roadie for American band Black Flag, Henry Rollins' best friend (d. 1991) *1962 - Steve Tasker, American football player *1963 - Warren DeMartini, American rock guitarist (Ratt) * 1963 - Doris Leuthard, member of the Swiss Federal Council *1965 - Tim Alexander, American musician *1967 - Donald Dufresne, Canadian ice hockey player *1968 - Orlando Jones, American actor and comedian *1969 - Billy Jayne, American actor * 1969 - Ekaterini Koffa, Greek sprinter *1970 - Matt Barlow, American former heavy metal singer (Iced Earth), now law enforcer * 1970 - Enrico Ciccone, Canadian ice hockey player * 1970 - Leonard Dorin, Canadian boxer * 1970 - Kenny Lattimore, American singer * 1970 - Mike Mushok, American rock guitarist (Staind) * 1970 - Q-Tip, American rapper *1971 - Al Reyes, Dominican baseball player *1973 - Guillaume Canet, French actor and film director * 1973 - Roberto Carlos, Brazilian footballer * 1973 - Aidan Moffat, Scottish singer and musician (Arab Strap) * 1973 - Christopher Simmons, American designer *1974 - Petros Passalis, Greek footballer *1975 - Chris Carrabba, American singer (Dashboard Confessional) *1976 - Sara Renner, Canadian cross country skier *1979 - Shemekia Copeland, American singer * 1979 - Rachel Corrie, American activist (d. 2003) * 1979 - Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese artist * 1979 - Sophie Ellis-Bextor, English singer * 1979 - Peter Kopteff, Finnish footballer *1980 - Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player * 1980 - Charlie Hunnam, British actor * 1980 - Kasey Kahne, American race-car driver * 1980 - Bryce Soderberg, American rock bassist (Lifehouse) *1981 - Liz McClarnon, British singer * 1981 - Michael Pitt, American actor * 1981 - Alexei Semenov, Russian ice hockey player *1982 - Damián Lanza, Ecuadorian footballer * 1982 - Chyler Leigh, American actress *1983 - Ryan Merriman, American actor *1984 - Mandy Moore, American singer/actress *1985 - Dion Phaneuf, Canadian ice hockey player *1986 - Vincent Kompany, Belgian footballer *1987 - Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano *1988 - Haley Joel Osment, American actor *1990 - Alex Pettyfer, English actor *1991 - Amanda Michalka, American actress/singer *2007 - Princess Ariane of the Netherlands Deaths * 948 - King Hugh of Italy * 879 - Louis the Stammerer, King of the West Franks (b. 846) *1533 - King Frederick I of Denmark (b. 1471) *1545 - Costanzo Festa, Italian composer *1585 - Pope Gregory XIII (b. 1502) *1599 - Gabrielle d'Estrée, mistress of King Henry IV of France (b. 1571) *1601 - Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet (b. 1562) *1640 - Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer (b. 1578) *1646 - Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (b. 1576) *1704 - William Egon of Fürstenberg, Bishop of Strassburg (b. 1629) *1706 - Arthur Chichester, Irish soldier (b. 1666) *1756 - Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (d. 1661) *1760 - Jean Lebeuf, French historian (b. 1687) *1786 - John Byron, British naval officer (b. 1723) *1813 - Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (b. 1736) *1823 - Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher (b. 1757) *1862 - W.H.L. Wallace, American Union general (b. 1821) *1882 - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828) *1904 - Queen Isabella II of Spain (b. 1830) *1909 - Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet and critic (b. 1837) *1919 - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary (b. 1879) *1920 - Moritz Cantor, German mathematician (b. 1829) *1931 - Khalil Gibran, Lebanese poet and painter (b. 1883) *1945 - Charles Nordhoff, English-born writer (b. 1887) * 1945 - H.N. Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (b. 1882) *1954 - Auguste Lumière, French film pioneer (b. 1862) * 1954 - Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1888) *1955 - Teilhard de Chardin, French paleontologist and theologian (b. 1881) *1958 - Chuck Willis, American singer and songwriter (b. 1928) *1962 - Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (b. 1886) * 1962 - Stuart Sutcliffe, English musician (The Beatles) (b. 1940) *1965 - Lloyd Casner, American race car driver and owner (b. 1928) * 1965 - Linda Darnell, American actress (b. 1923) *1966 - Evelyn Waugh, English writer (b. 1903) *1968 - Gustavs Celmins, Latvian politician (b. 1899) *1969 - Harley J. Earl, American automobile designer (b. 1893) *1975 - Marjorie Main, American actress (b. 1890) *1979 - Nino Rota, Italian composer (b. 1911) *1980 - Kay Medford, American actress (b. 1914) *1986 - Linda Creed, American songwriter (b. 1948) *1991 - Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955) * 1991 - Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900) *1992 - Sam Kinison, American comedian (b. 1953) *1993 - Chris Hani, South African activist (b. 1942) *1994 - Sam B. Hall, American politician (b. 1924) *1995 - Morarji Desai, Indian activist (b. 1896) *1997 - Michael Dorris, American author (b. 1945) *1999 - Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, German-born biochemist (b. 1910) * 1999 - Jean Vander Pyl, American voice actress (b. 1919) *2000 - Peter Jones, English comedian (b. 1920) * 2000 - Larry Linville, American actor (b. 1939) * 2000 - Kirsten Rolffes, Danish actress (b. 1928) *2002 - Yuji Hyakutake, Japanese astronomer (b. 1950) *2003 - Chumy Chúmez, Spanish film director (b. 1927) * 2003 - Little Eva, American singer (b. 1943) *2005 - Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (b. 1923) * 2005 - Iakovos (b. 1911) * 2005 - Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978) *2007 - Kevin Crease, Australian television newsreader Holidays and observances *Feast for Three Days - Third Day (Thelema) Liturgical observances *Saint Fulbert of Chartres *James Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. *Saint Paternus References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April